Page 14

Chapter 13

Juliet

Trey fucking Lamont.

That psychotic stalker just had to go and save my life. Now I’m indebted to him and practically swooning.

He kneels beside the cooling corpse, meat cleaver poised over Ned’s hand until he brings it down with a sickening thud. He slips the thumb into a small plastic bag. “Way easier. Can’t believe I’ve been using a knife this whole time.”

“I’ve been thinking of upgrading to a machete.”

Trey nods to the open door behind me. “I’m thinking we just leave the door open and wait for the bears to get him. Gonna be way easier than trying to bury him in frozen dirt or burn him in these temperatures.”

I fold my arms. “And what if a bear doesn’t happen to wander by?”

“Pretty sure I saw some prints a few yards from the house. If a bear doesn’t get him, coyotes will. Food is more scarce this time of year, and they’ll smell a dead body from a mile away. They’ll definitely want that deer.”

Right. Easily explainable. Ned accidentally left the door open while he butchered his kill, only to get ambushed by a bear. Who knows when anyone will come looking for him anyway. Maybe no one will. Who could give a shit about a man like him?

I pull out my phone. “I’m looking up Franklin, Rhode Island.”

Our next stop.

We won’t be able to find Brandon tonight, but it’s a start.

Except there aren’t any search results for Franklin, Rhode Island. My heart starts to pound as my eyes drift to the body on the floor, blood still pooling around him and head completely severed. Unable to say another word.

Rage bubbles up from my chest to a boiling point. “He fucking lied .”

Trey finally slips his mask off, frowning. “What do you mean?”

“Franklin, Rhode Island doesn’t exist .” I show him the phone screen, seething as my blood pumps with searing, blistering fury.

With his dying breath, he told more lies.

The line between Trey’s brows deepens. “Maybe he really didn’t know where Brandon was. He just threw out a town to get the torture to stop.”

My jaw aches as I clench my jaw. I shake my head, digging into Ned’s pockets. “No. There’s no fucking way he didn’t know. There’s no fucking way I’ve come this far to be stopped here.”

Hot, angry tears blur my vision. I can’t have finally gotten my revenge on two of the monsters from that night only to come to a dead-end before finding Brandon or Autumn’s killer.

They can’t get away with what they did to her. What they did to me. They can’t hurt anyone else.

I already have blood on my hands. What’s a little more? Especially when they don’t deserve to take another breath.

I refuse to come this far only to let the universe stop me. I’m finishing what I started.

When my search of Ned’s pockets turns up empty, I scream, pounding my fists on his lifeless corpse.

Trey doesn’t pull me off him or try to calm me down. I love that about him. He doesn’t try to tamper down my crazy or tame me—he embraces my insanity, encourages me to be my most savage.

When I’ve finally regained my composure enough to speak, I tell him, “I need to find Ned’s phone.”

Before I can stomp past Trey out the door, he grabs my hand. Mine slick with blood, and his the same. “I’ll come with you.”

He hangs onto my hand like a life raft as we make our way over the thin layer of snow, like witnessing my near-death rattled him more than he cares to admit. More than I care to remember.

We slip inside, the door unlocked, and stay quiet despite the lack of occupants. Even with the woodstove still burning, the air is damp, stale, and reeks of mildew.

Trey feigns a shudder. “It’s like his ghost is already haunting this place.”

I smack his arm, even as a chill races down my spine. “Shut up. We need to find a phone or something. Craig said Brandon was here. They must be communicating with each other.”

“Before you decapitated them, at least.” An amused smirk pulls at Trey’s lips. “You really have a thing for chopping people’s heads off, don’t you?”

“Only when it’s deserved.”

“You sure Brandon isn’t hiding out here somewhere?”

“Positive. I watched Ned drag the deer into the shed alone. I’ve already done a sweep of the house. Brandon must’ve been here at some point, but he’s gone now.”

Trey’s lip curls, just as infuriated as I am by this roadblock. “You look upstairs; I’ll search down here.”

Before I drop his hand, I lean on my tiptoes to plant a kiss on his cheek. To thank him for saving my ass and keeping me alive for tonight. For everything.

But then I jerk back, realizing what I’ve done. “Shit. Sorry.”

I kissed him. That was the only boundary he gave me, and I broke it.

My shoulders sink with relief when he gives me a rare, sincere smile. “It’s all right. I liked it.”

For some reason, his admission nearly makes me want to burst into tears of joy. He wouldn’t let any girl kiss him. Not until me.

So you’re the one. The one I’ve been searching for. He knew even then. He knew the night we met what we would become to each other.

Then he points down and ruins the moment. “You can kiss somewhere else, if you want.”

I roll my eyes and jerk away from him, heading for the stairs. “You’re not getting a blowjob right now.”

“On the way home then!” he calls to my back, and I flip him off before I head upstairs, the old wooden steps creaking under my weight.

As much as I hate to admit it, he’s right—I need him. How the hell did I think I could get away with killing four men on my own and not leave a mess behind? I’ve never killed anyone before. I may have always known I was capable of it, but there’s a big difference between knowing what you’re capable of and actually doing it.

When Ned came at me with that meat cleaver, fear like I’d never felt before washed over me. I was dead—I was certain of it. He’d gathered the last of his strength to end my life, and the only reason I survived him was because Trey Lamont, my masked man, followed me here.

But I couldn’t let Trey be the one who killed him. I didn’t care about the pain blooming in my temple from where I’d hit my head in my rush to get away from the monster trying to kill me. I didn’t care about the vertigo or the fear that had a serpent’s grip on my heart. I only cared about seeing my revenge through to the end.

As far as I’m concerned, we put him out of his misery too quickly. His death was too merciful. I’ll make sure I don’t make that mistake with Brandon or Autumn’s killer.

Trey wants to help. Since he hasn’t opened his mouth about Craig, I can trust him to be my partner in crime.

At this point, I’m not sure I have a choice. Without him, I may not make it out of this alive.

You’re okay. You’re okay now. I’m here. You’re so fucking brave. Strong. Beautiful. I’m so proud of you.

My heart catches in my throat. All the words I needed to hear in that moment. Words I’ve been needing to hear for a lifetime.

You’re okay. You’re okay now. I’m here.

We’re in this together. You and me now .

I’m the one he was searching for, and I think I was searching for him too. I didn’t even realize I was searching for him until I found him.

Ned only has two bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs, the shower curtain open to reveal the wall stained with rust. One bedroom is minimal, little more than a bed, a dresser, and a lamp, everything covered in a layer of dust. Maybe it’s Trey’s ghost comment or the dead body cooling a mere few yards away, but this place gives me the creeps.

The other bedroom is more lived in, a messy bed, half-open dresser drawers, an overflowing hamper, dirty socks on the floor, a cluttered nightstand, and a collection of blank CDs strewn in front of the television.

My stomach twists. Something tells me I don’t want to know what’s on those discs.

In the corner, his desktop hums. A shake of the mouse would stir his computer to life. The acid in my gut churns. What horrors lurk on that hard drive?

On the edge of his desk, a phone is half-buried under a notebook.

I should be jumping for it, figuring out a way to get into the device and find what I’m looking for. Figure out how to find Brandon. But my feet are frozen.

What the hell am I going to find on that phone? Whatever I find, I won’t be able to unsee it.

Heartbeat echoing in my ears, I force my feet to shuffle forward, chest rising and falling faster with every inch closer.

Finally, I snatch the phone and turn it on.

The screen prompts me to enter the passcode when the face recognition is declined. Shit.

“You found his phone.”

Trey’s voice behind me makes me jump. “Jesus! Don’t sneak up on people like that. Especially after they’ve just decapitated someone.”

He smirks. “Thought you couldn’t be scared, little demon.”

“Not by you.” I thrust the phone into his chest. “I’ve got it. Let’s go.”

But he doesn’t follow me back to the stairs. “Should we look through the computer?”

“There’s nothing on there you’ll want to see. Trust me.”

His face darkens, gaze fixated on the monitors like he can extract the images and videos from that computer and somehow avenge more victims.

I love that he cares so much. Cares about strangers he’s never met. Cares about me, even more than he cares about himself.

“If anyone comes looking for him, they’ll find it. They’ll know what he was really like. And if anyone suspects it wasn’t actually a bear that ripped his head from his body, they’ll know why he’s dead.”

At my side, Sienna shuffles in her Uggs down the hallway, bags under her eyes and hair unbrushed. She barely had time to get dressed and brush her teeth when she rolled out of bed fifteen minutes ago. The nursing program is no joke, and it’s clearly taking its toll on her. Between early mornings for clinicals and late nights with Luke, my best friend has turned into a zombie. Unfortunately, that doesn’t stop her from interrogating me at ten in the morning.

“You’re going to be late to class,” I remind her.

She yawns before taking another gulp from her coffee and glaring at me. “Don’t try to change the subject. Where did you go the other night?”

“I told you I went to have fun.”

“With who ?”

“Why does it have to involve anyone else?”

Sienna grabs my arm and yanks me to a stop, sending my notebooks and phone to the floor. ”Sorry!”

“ Shit .” I scramble for the phone. Ned’s phone.

When it turns on, I let out a sigh of relief. Thank god. This is my last chance to find Brandon. The bastard didn’t program his face ID into the device, and I haven’t been able to crack the passcode yet, but I’ll be dead before I stop trying to get into this fucker’s phone.

“Why do you have a second phone?” Sienna frowns until her eyes nearly bug out of her head. She glances around us before stepping closer and lowering her voice. “Oh my god! Are you dealing drugs ?”

“Jesus, no .”

“I know you’re keeping secrets from me.” Sienna lifts her chin, resolute. “I’m not leaving until you tell me what’s going on.”

No way in hell can I tell Sienna who this phone belongs to or why I’m trying to crack the passcode. “It’s not my phone,” I blurt. “It’s Trey’s.”

Sienna’s brows furrow as her eyes dart between me and the phone. “Why do you have Trey Lamont’s phone?”

God, I’m starting to lose track of how many secrets I’m keeping from my best friend. “It’s part of this...game we play.” When she opens her mouth to ask for more details, I add, “Trust me, you don’t want to know.”

“When the hell did you start spending time with Trey Lamont?” Her mouth falls open as realization dawns. “Oh my god. Juliet. Tell me he wasn’t the guy you hooked up with the night you got drunk at the Sigma Chi party.”

“Did I not just say you don’t want to know?”

She squeezes my arm and shakes me like a ragdoll. “Why didn’t you tell me ? You’ve been fucking a psycho and you didn’t say a word about it! I’m your best friend!”

“I didn’t tell you because you were so obvious about hating him. I didn’t need a lecture.”

She rolls her eyes. “Oh, please. I didn’t lecture you when you were hooking up with Marcus. I just want to make sure my best friend is safe and happy.”

“Yes and yes.” At least, I’m safe most of the time. Just not when I travel to dangerous men’s isolated properties to kill them.

“How’s the sex?” Sienna smiles conspiratorially.

“Absolutely feral.”

She laughs. “That’s not surprising. Anyway, I just want the best for you. I’ll support you no matter what.”

I wonder if she’d say that if she knew what other extracurriculars I’ve been up to. “Thanks.”

She nods at the phone in my hand. “I know someone who can help you get into his phone.”

“Who?” My heart leaps with a tiny ray of hope.

“Finn.”

I groan. “The Devil who doesn’t talk?”

“Exactly, but he’s good at stuff like this. He helped me out last semester. It’s worth a shot. I bet he’d love to help you mess with Trey.”

“Oh, I know he would. All three of them.” Too bad getting Finn to help me would mean involving another person in this mess. “Maybe I’ll ask him.”

“You should.” Sienna checks the time on her own phone and gasps. “Shit! I have to go. Text me when you’re done with class. We desperately need girl time.”

“Deal.” The word is barely out of my mouth before Sienna takes off, soft brown hair streaming behind her.

In my Human Sexuality class, the professor engages the class in a conversation about gender roles. My attention keeps flickering back and forth between the professor sitting casually on her desk at the front of the room and Ned’s phone, screen still locked. Entering the wrong passcode too many times will temporarily disable the device. As much as I don’t want to enlist Finn Ashby’s help, I may not have a choice.

A few minutes after the professor turns on a video and shuts off the lights, a tall student sneaks into the classroom, heading for the back row with me. The only other student in the row with us has his head resting on his arms, soft snores barely audible over the video playing at the front of the room.

The student sneaking into the room takes the open seat right next to me, his familiar leather scent wafting up my nose and making me feel weirdly comforted. At home. “Miss me, little demon?”

“You’re not in this class,” I hiss, as if he isn’t well aware. The professor at the front of the room doesn’t give a shit, completely entranced by the video about sexual development throughout the human lifespan while most of the students yawn or nap.

“You get into that phone yet?”

“Not yet.” I glance at the professor. Luckily, she’s completely oblivious to our conversation at the back of the room. “But Sienna told me to ask Finn to help.”

Trey’s predatory green eyes narrow. “What the hell can he do for you that I can’t?”

I smirk. I love seeing him jealous. “Hack into a locked phone. Now, go.” I elbow him. “You’re distracting me from my class.”

“I’m not going anywhere.” He leans close, growling the words inches from my ear. “I told you I’d get you back for what you did. How you left me like that.”

Even though the rage ripples off him, I can’t help but smirk. It felt so fucking good leaving him tied to his bed wanting more that night. Striding out the door as he was on the brink of an orgasm so he could know what it feels like. The same way he left me aching and needing more after he held me at knifepoint in the woods. “How do you plan on doing that? We’re in a classroom full of people.”

“None of them will see.” His hand lands on my thigh, inching up my leggings. My skin grows hot. “But they might hear you.”

I try to shake him off without drawing attention to us. “Get the fuck off me.”

He tsks. “You knew this was coming. You knew exactly what the consequences would be when you walked out that door.”

He’s right—I was well aware of what the repercussions would be for orgasm denial. I can pretend to fight him all I want, but we both know I’m anticipating his every move, every brush of his skin against mine. How is he going to one-up me this time? Especially when we’re in the middle of class.

I can’t wait to find out.

“Do your worst, devil,” I challenge. He pushes past the waistband of my leggings before I can shove him away, wedging his hand between my clenched thighs. My panic rises as his touch makes warmth spread to my core, and I warn in a whisper, “Trey?—”

“Shh. Don’t want the whole class to hear you come on my hand, little demon.”

As his finger finds my clit through my panties, I bite back a moan, glancing past him to the student with his head on his arms, still asleep. No one else to witness what we’re doing unless they turn around to find us. Unless I make a sound that gives us away.

His finger strikes my clit, and I bite down on my lip so hard, a bead of copper hits the tip of my tongue. “Stop it,” I hiss, trying to push him away. But he only leans closer, putting more pressure on the hand between my legs.

“I love when you pretend to fight me.” His hot breath hits the shell of my ear, goosebumps dancing down my arms. “It makes me want to fuck the fight out of you.”

“ Devil .” When I spit the word, he rewards me by sliding a finger inside my pussy.

I hiss in a breath, tight walls clamping around his finger as he curls it and pumps, the pleasure mounting. My heart thuds faster. The professor’s gaze is glued to the video playing at the front of the room, but what if she glances back to check that we’re all paying attention? What if she spots me with a hand clamped over my mouth to mute the moans threatening to escape? What if Trey doesn’t stop his delicious torment and makes me come loud enough for the whole class to hear?

My nails bite into my palms. Asshole .

Even when the pleasure mixes with a sting as he thrusts in a second finger and my eyes water, I can’t stop him. I don’t want to. My brain may still have an ounce of logic remaining, but the rest of my body has completely given in to him.

“You see how easily your body responds to me? You know how well we fit together. How perfect we are for each other.”

This time, I don’t bother objecting or biting back a retort. It’s getting harder and harder to continue denying the truth. We’re both matches lit from the same flame, ready to burn the whole world down with us.

“The little demon who’s finally found her devil.” His whisper makes an unstoppable trickle of warmth glide down my spine.

“You...aren’t my...anything,” I pant as his fingers keep up their merciless stroking, creating a mess in my panties as the pleasure comes to a boil and I squeeze my eyes shut. I won’t be able to stop him from making me come, from making me scream loud enough for the whole class to hear.

“I’m your devil,” he repeats, yanking up the sleeve of my black sweater to reveal the tattoo on my arm. “And you’re my little demon.”

He pops his fingers free so suddenly, I freeze. He can’t be stopping. Not while my heart is hammering, thighs clenching, pussy pulsing and aching for release.

But that’s exactly what he’s doing. Punishing me for doing the same to him in his bedroom. Leaving me aching for a release that’s just out of reach. “What are you?—”

“Get on your knees, Juliet.”

“What?” I hiss.

He smirks in the darkness beside me with his legs spread and hands waiting on his thighs. “Get on your knees, take out my cock, wrap your pretty lips around it, and swallow every drop.”

My cheeks burn at the thought of giving him head right here in the middle of a fucking classroom. “There’s no way in hell I’m doing that.”

To my horror, his mouth falls open and he lets out a sharp moan.

A few students ahead of us stir, glancing back as my heart pounds against my ribcage. Thank god, the professor doesn’t hear anything from the front of the room as the video continues blaring from the speakers. My classmates shrug off the sound and return their attention to their phones or naps.

I send my elbow into his ribs. “Shut the fuck up!”

“Only if you crawl under this desk and blow me, pretty girl.”

Holding up a single finger, I let him know exactly how I feel about his disgusting, humiliating order, but when he opens his mouth again, I grit my teeth and slide to the floor.

As screwed up as it is, a dose of anticipation floods my veins while I shuffle under the desk, hidden from view, and stroke my hand over the bulge waiting for me in his pants. A groan rumbles low in his throat, but he manages to keep quiet this time. Somewhat. Most guys are damn near silent in bed or all they do is pant in your ear, but every sexy sound that emits from Trey Lamont’s mouth leaves me aching for more.

“In your mouth.” His low command makes my thighs clench.

Teeth grinding, I pull his zipper down and tug his cock out from the opening at the front of his boxers. He’s rock-hard in my palm, and I press my thumb against the precum at the head, smearing it down as I stroke him. His cock throbs, needing more.

“Fuck you,” I whisper. I can’t let him know I’m enjoying a second of this, even if I am. Every single second. Even if I’m dying to get him in my mouth as much as he is.

“Yes, demon. Fuck me with your pretty little mouth.”

I squeeze the base of his cock hard—too hard, making him wince and reminding him of who’s really in charge here—and wrap my lips around his tip before my tongue darts out, flicking at the piercing. God, I can’t wait to ride him and feel that piercing hit deep inside me.

He drops his head back, hand gripping my hair and tugging, nearly ripping the strands free from my scalp as my eyes water.

My teeth scrape the underside of his tip, just enough to remind him of who he’s dealing with and what I’m capable of.

“Careful.” To remind me of who he is and what he’s capable of, he drives his hips up, cock and piercing hitting the back of my throat.

He coughs to cover up my gag so we don’t attract more attention. Tears trickle down my cheeks now, but I don’t wipe them away. I’ll let them drip down and mix with my saliva, just like he wants.

I need to get this over with before he makes me gag again and we get caught.

Trey shoves my head down, forcing my mouth to bob along the length of his rigid cock. My abdomen lurches with a gag, but his cock in my throat muffles the sound. He’s going to suffocate me. They’ll find me on the floor with his cum in my mouth, drowned in it. “That’s my bad fucking girl.”

With a hard grip at the base, I bob my mouth up and down, dragging my tongue over his shaft as I coat his skin with my saliva. I suck my cheeks in until my jaw is aching, hoping that gets him off faster.

I’ve never wanted a man to come in my mouth so much before, and I’m not sure if it’s the fear of getting caught or the anticipation of his hot, salty taste on my tongue.

The vein on the underside of his shaft pulses, and I brace myself for his cum to shoot down my throat. I suck harder, move faster?—

Above our heads, the lights flick on.

I freeze as the sound from the video at the front of the room stops. My hand drops from his cock as I try to scramble away, but Trey holds me in place under the desk, pumping into my mouth so hard, all I can do is suck in air through my nose and grip his thighs like I’m on the edge of a cliff.

“You’re not stopping until I’m finished.” His growl makes arousal and fear pump through me in an overwhelming mix until his piercing hits my throat and the cum spurts out. I’m forced to swallow all of it, the salty taste coating my tongue. I can’t help but whimper as I reflexively gag and struggle to breathe. “That’s it. Every drop.”

At the front of the room, the professor says something about an assignment or an exam. I don’t know what the hell she’s talking about until she dismisses us and Trey finally releases his hold on me.

I’m left panting under the desk as he tucks his cock back into his pants and zips up his fly. He grabs my arm, squeezing just above the Little demon tattoo. “Don’t ever question what I am to you again.”

His chair screeches as he stands and leaves me cold and aching for his warmth. He saunters back down the row, pounding his fist on the end of the table and stirring my sleeping classmate back to reality.

My jaw aches from blowing him and clenching my teeth.

With bleary eyes, my classmate blinks at me under the desk. My cheeks warm and I pat the disgusting ground. “There it is! Found it.”

I scramble out from under the desk, pretending to shove an invisible earring into my lobe and rushing out the door before anyone can speculate more.

Despite the wet ache between my legs, I can’t help the smile that crawls across my lips as I step out of the classroom.

The little demon who’s finally found her devil.